Discussion · Senate
Chuck Grassley Republican
“Republicans are lowering costs for Americans. Our tax cuts saved families money, helped businesses grow, and cut spending. We are also working to lower drug prices, reduce food costs, and cut regulations. I also want Congress to pass my bill to make cancer screening rules easier for doctors and patients to find and use.”
“Mr. President, lowering costs for Americans has been a key focus of this Republican Congress. The 2025 Working Families Tax Cut Act prevented the largest tax increase in the history of our country. If that bill had not passed, taxes would have gone up by about $3,500 per family. The tax cuts have put more money into working families’ and seniors’ pocketbooks by establishing no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and expanding tax relief for seniors to the tune, for seniors, of a $6,000 tax credit. It also increased the child tax credit, and it also has a deductibility of interest on car loans. So you see, when we call it the Working Families Tax Cut Act, you can see the important provisions that back up that title. Those taxpayers earning between $50,000 to $200,000 that took advantage of at least one of these new deductions received an average tax cut of between $815 and $1,250. Moreover, the rest of the law made pro-growth policies that incentivized business investment permanently. This has enabled Iowa companies such as Sukup Manufacturing in Sheffield and Vermeer Corporation in Pella to fund multimillion-dollar expansions and add hundreds of good-paying jobs. This Senator has worked to lower costs of healthcare by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse out of the healthcare system. I am also working hard to hold pharmaceutical companies and powerful drug middlemen called pharmacy benefit managers accountable. In February, Congress passed key PBM reforms to lower drug costs for seniors and Americans with private health insurance. Of course, everybody agrees more needs to be done to stop anticompetitive practices of Big Pharma and these pharmacy benefit managers. I will continue to push to fix a broken system and lower drug costs. I have also worked to lower food costs by supporting American agriculture and passing the farm bill. Lowering high input costs for farmers is key, a very key way to help American agriculture and, at the same time, all American families at the dinner table. The Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee-passed farm bill includes my transparency tools to help bring down fertilizer costs. It also includes year-round E15 that will deliver a $14 billion boost in corn demand and lower the price at the pump of up to 40 cents per gallon. Here in the Senate, we have expanded and protected the Trump administration’s effort to remove redtape and put more money back into the pockets of working families and small business owners. So far, the administration’s efforts have resulted in over $1 trillion in total regulatory cost reductions. Reducing redtape spurs innovation and lowers production costs, putting downward pressure on the price of household goods. Last here, but not least, affordability requires fiscal sanity, something the Biden administration didn’t have because fiscal recklessness by the previous administration spurred 9 percent inflation, costing Iowa households an extra $7,000 in just his first 20 months in office. Now, we hear all this talk about inflation since Trump took over. Is the memory of Americans so short that they don’t remember 9 percent inflation in the previous administration and how now it is dramatically down? Now, self-proclaimed democrat socialists are running for office, promising a pile of budget-busting policies rather than delivering affordability. Such policies would exacerbate inflation and push up interest rates on mortgages, car loans, and consumer credits. In contrast, Republicans, by focusing on rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in government, are working to snuff out inflation and contain interest costs. This includes trimming $1 trillion in mandatory spending as part of the Working Families Tax Cut Act. This work and more are making life more affordable for America. Mr. President, now another short comment I want to make on another subject about cancer screening. Last week, I introduced a bipartisan cancer screening bill titled the ``Standardizing Cancer Recommendations for Early Evaluation and Navigation of Screening Act’’; SCREENS, as an acronym for that legislation and that long name of the legislation. The bill will improve access to cancer screening guidelines so they are more accessible, transparent, and user-friendly. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. We know that access to cancer screenings increases the chance of early treatment and reduces mortality. This is especially important for rural Americans and with the rising rates of cancer in young people. To ensure patients have access to the best information at their fingertips or in the doctor’s office, the Federal Government, through the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, can help ensure cancer screening recommendations are in a data-friendly format for apps, for tools, and for interoperable technology development. Cancer screening guidelines still sit in lengthy documents that are not easy to navigate for patients or even for providers. These guidelines are routinely updated and refined, but it is difficult to track every change. Patients want to know: Are they at risk for cancer and when should they get screened? Patients expect doctors to have the latest information, and they often have sticky notes on the recommendations taped to their computer, but it might not be the latest information or applicable to a particular patient. There are some leading examples that are working to address this problem, including the Cancer Screen Iowa tool and Decision Precision+. My legislation will enable more technology development for patients and providers by streamlining access to cancer screening guidelines. Making sure cancer screening recommendations are more patient- centered is common sense. Improving cancer research, access to early detection and screening, and cancer care are critical in defeating cancer. I am proud to say that Iowa is taking this same comprehensive approach. This includes the cutting-edge research at the University of Iowa’s Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center and Iowa’s use of the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Fund that was in the tax bill of last year that is investing in rural cancer care at rural hospitals and clinics across the State. I will keep fighting to prevent cancer and improve cancer care. I yield the floor.”
Mr. President, lowering costs for Americans has been a key focus of this Republican Congress. The 2025 Working Families Tax Cut Act prevented the largest tax increase in the history of our country. If that bill had not passed, taxes would have gone up by about $3,500 per family. The tax cuts have put more money into working families’ and seniors’ pocketbooks by establishing no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and expanding tax relief for seniors to the tune, for seniors, of a $6,000 tax credit. It also increased the child tax credit, and it also has a deductibility of interest on car loans. So you see, when we call it the Working Families Tax Cut Act, you can see the important provisions that back up that title. Those taxpayers earning between $50,000 to $200,000 that took advantage of at least one of these new deductions received an average tax cut of between $815 and $1,250. Moreover, the rest of the law made pro-growth policies that incentivized business investment permanently. This has enabled Iowa companies such as Sukup Manufacturing in Sheffield and Vermeer Corporation in Pella to fund multimillion-dollar expansions and add hundreds of good-paying jobs. This Senator has worked to lower costs of healthcare by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse out of the healthcare system. I am also working hard to hold pharmaceutical companies and powerful drug middlemen called pharmacy benefit managers accountable. In February, Congress passed key PBM reforms to lower drug costs for seniors and Americans with private health insurance. Of course, everybody agrees more needs to be done to stop anticompetitive practices of Big Pharma and these pharmacy benefit managers. I will continue to push to fix a broken system and lower drug costs. I have also worked to lower food costs by supporting American agriculture and passing the farm bill. Lowering high input costs for farmers is key, a very key way to help American agriculture and, at the same time, all American families at the dinner table. The Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee-passed farm bill includes my transparency tools to help bring down fertilizer costs. It also includes year-round E15 that will deliver a $14 billion boost in corn demand and lower the price at the pump of up to 40 cents per gallon. Here in the Senate, we have expanded and protected the Trump administration’s effort to remove redtape and put more money back into the pockets of working families and small business owners. So far, the administration’s efforts have resulted in over $1 trillion in total regulatory cost reductions. Reducing redtape spurs innovation and lowers production costs, putting downward pressure on the price of household goods. Last here, but not least, affordability requires fiscal sanity, something the Biden administration didn’t have because fiscal recklessness by the previous administration spurred 9 percent inflation, costing Iowa households an extra $7,000 in just his first 20 months in office. Now, we hear all this talk about inflation since Trump took over. Is the memory of Americans so short that they don’t remember 9 percent inflation in the previous administration and how now it is dramatically down? Now, self-proclaimed democrat socialists are running for office, promising a pile of budget-busting policies rather than delivering affordability. Such policies would exacerbate inflation and push up interest rates on mortgages, car loans, and consumer credits. In contrast, Republicans, by focusing on rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in government, are working to snuff out inflation and contain interest costs. This includes trimming $1 trillion in mandatory spending as part of the Working Families Tax Cut Act. This work and more are making life more affordable for America. Mr. President, now another short comment I want to make on another subject about cancer screening. Last week, I introduced a bipartisan cancer screening bill titled the ``Standardizing Cancer Recommendations for Early Evaluation and Navigation of Screening Act’’; SCREENS, as an acronym for that legislation and that long name of the legislation. The bill will improve access to cancer screening guidelines so they are more accessible, transparent, and user-friendly. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. We know that access to cancer screenings increases the chance of early treatment and reduces mortality. This is especially important for rural Americans and with the rising rates of cancer in young people. To ensure patients have access to the best information at their fingertips or in the doctor’s office, the Federal Government, through the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, can help ensure cancer screening recommendations are in a data-friendly format for apps, for tools, and for interoperable technology development. Cancer screening guidelines still sit in lengthy documents that are not easy to navigate for patients or even for providers. These guidelines are routinely updated and refined, but it is difficult to track every change. Patients want to know: Are they at risk for cancer and when should they get screened? Patients expect doctors to have the latest information, and they often have sticky notes on the recommendations taped to their computer, but it might not be the latest information or applicable to a particular patient. There are some leading examples that are working to address this problem, including the Cancer Screen Iowa tool and Decision Precision+. My legislation will enable more technology development for patients and providers by streamlining access to cancer screening guidelines. Making sure cancer screening recommendations are more patient- centered is common sense. Improving cancer research, access to early detection and screening, and cancer care are critical in defeating cancer. I am proud to say that Iowa is taking this same comprehensive approach. This includes the cutting-edge research at the University of Iowa’s Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center and Iowa’s use of the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Fund that was in the tax bill of last year that is investing in rural cancer care at rural hospitals and clinics across the State. I will keep fighting to prevent cancer and improve cancer care. I yield the floor.